


Rose & Kanaya: Have A Million First Times

by TTMIYH



Series: John: Grow Increasingly Involved With Kink [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, BDSM, Bondage, Cute, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, First Meetings, First Time, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, Light Sadism, Rope Bondage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TTMIYH/pseuds/TTMIYH
Summary: TT: Well, it has been several months since we began talking.TT: We live in the same city, at least, unless you have moved since last time we talked about our respective living situations.TT: To be excessively blunt, perhaps to the point of crudity, I am fond of talking to you. And I would hope that the feeling is mutual.GA: YesGA: You Could Say That It IsTT: Great. Fabulous. Fantastic, even.TT: In that case, I believe it would be remiss at this point for me to fail to ascertain the possibility of, sayTT: A coffeeTT: ATT: The possibility of us perhaps meeting somewhere in the meat world, over a fine cup of coffee or two?GA: ActuallyGA: I Prefer Tea
Relationships: Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam
Series: John: Grow Increasingly Involved With Kink [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1285106
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a series of stories taking place before the events of [John: Accept Invitation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874917/chapters/42188942).

TT: So, how were finals?  
GA: Oh Lovely  
GA: They Were Simply Fantastic  
TT: Really? That's an interesting opinion to have about final exams.  
TT: What aspect, in particular, was the most fantastic about them? If you don't mind me picking your brain.  
GA: Mrs Lalonde I Have Never Minded You Picking My Brain A Single Moment These Past Few Weeks  
TT: Stop, you're making me blush.  
GA: The Best Part Is That They Are Over  
GA: Now I Dont Have To Wait With Bated Breath To Find Out If I Will Receive The Degree I Have Essentially Shackled Myself With Debt To  
GA: It Is No Longer In My Hands  
GA: And Thus  
GA: I Find It Freeing  
TT: That you don't have to worry about it anymore? Intriguing.  
TT: May I requisition a spare moment of your time, Madam?  
GA: You May  
GA: Thank You For Asking  
TT: Well, it has been several months since we began talking.  
TT: We live in the same city, at least, unless you have moved since last time we talked about our respective living situations.  
TT: To be excessively blunt, perhaps to the point of crudity, I am fond of talking to you. And I would hope that the feeling is mutual.  
GA: Yes  
GA: You Could Say That It Is  
TT: Great. Fabulous. Fantastic, even.  
TT: In that case, I believe it would be remiss at this point for me to fail to ascertain the possibility of, say  
TT: A coffee  
TT: A  
TT: The possibility of us perhaps meeting somewhere in the meat world, over a fine cup of coffee or two?  
GA: Actually  
GA: I Prefer Tea  
TT: Tea would be lovely.  
TT: I know a tea place.  
GA: Are You Sure  
GA: That Sounds Like Something That Somebody Unsure Of Their Knowledge Of Tea Places Would Say  
GA: You Arent Some Kind Of Tea Charlatan  
GA: Are You Mrs Lalonde?  
GA: A Tea Poseur?  
GA: A Tea Mountebank?  
TT: No, I don't beli  
TT: What is a mountebank?  
TT: Actually never mind, I forgot the small supercomputer in my pocket has the answer to every single question humanity could ever ask and more, barring those regarding the delectability of certain breakfast cereals and their relations to one's perceived age.  
TT: No, I don't believe I am any of those things. I am no charlatan, no poseur, and particularly not a mountebank.  
TT: There is no swindling of tea occurring here.  
TT: No jape to be had, Mrs. Maryam, I can assure you that.  
TT: I am as secure in my tea knowledge as I am of my prose-writing ability.  
GA: Lmao  
TT: So...  
GA: So  
TT: There is a lovely little place a couple blocks from my dorm. Do you mind a little bit of a hike?  
GA: Of Course Not  
GA: In All Likelihood I Will Probably Just Get An Uber Though  
TT: You know, that's fair.  
TT: Let me text you the address, then.  
TT: Got it?  
GA: Message Received Loud And Clear Mrs Lalonde  
GA: When Are You Free?  
TT: Considering I have also recently finished my finals, and thus am merely following the circumspect tides of my personal worldline,   
TT: Most all the time, basically.  
GA: Are You Free Tonight  
TT: Am  
TT: Am I free tonight?  
GA: Are You Free Tonight Mrs Lalonde  
TT: Um.  
TT: One moment to check my itinerary.  
TT: Yes.  
TT: I do believe I am free tonight.  
GA: Seven O'Clock Then At The Golden Princess  
GA: Do We Have A Date?  
TT: I wasn't going to go *that* far,  
GA: Do We?  
TT: Yes'm. I will see you tonight at 7, sharp.  
GA: Goodie  
GA: I Will Be Signing Off To Pretty Myself Up Then  
GA: Is That Alright With You?  
TT: I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be, no. You are free to do as thou wilt.  
TT: I suppose I should probably freshen up myself, shouldn't I?  
GA: I Have A Feeling That Would Be Wise  
TT: Yes. Quite.  
TT: I will. Be seeing you then.  
GA: Be Seeing You Rose  


...

...

...

_AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH_

Rose Lalonde tossed her phone gently into the pillow of her dorm room, reached out to grab her pillow, thus returning the phone to her, grabbed the phone again, looked at Kanaya's last message, gently set the phone down, decided to charge it so it would be fully charged for her ~~date date date date date~~ and in case anything happened she'd have a full phone battery, plugged her phone in, buried her face in her pillow, noticed that it never made the telltale BwOoOmP noise of being plugged in correctly, pulled her phone out of the charger with a tug, accidentally unplugged her charger, let out a loud and fairly inappropriate cuss word, pulled the cord out correctly, plugged the phone charger back in, plugged the other end of the charger correctly into her phone, watched it like a hawk, pulled the charger out again when a couple of seconds failed to reveal the necessary charging symbol, flipped the cord's end around 180 degrees, plugged it in, BwOoOmP, and finally remembered that, as a human being, she required oxygen on occasion, opening her mouth for a slightly anguished gasp of air.

Then, slightly sweaty, worked to a mildly uncomfortable lather by the inevitable frustrations of technology and blessing the fact that she was able to acquire a dorm room that contained only herself and nobody else was a blessing in times like this. Rose immediately (once the phone situation was situated) discarded her clothing into a heap on the floor, joining the dozens of other clothes heaps that required such imminent washing and yet... so much to do, so much to see. She gingerly stepped over old socks, shuddering ever so silently at the cool air (69 degrees, just like she liked - nice and frosty), and into the bathroom.

This was no pleasure shower, oh no. That would, hopefully, come after she returned from a successful outing with a lovely lady and possibly acquired a kiss on the cheek or two, for that was as far as her expectations extended (silly Rose, if only you knew!), and, considering her prior severe lack of romantic success, she would hold onto that memory forever as she was inevitably ghosted. Already resigned to failure, but also willing to struggle for the good things in life - what an odd combination of traits! Truly, is it any wonder that the spiral of emotions pooling in your brain may match the dirt and grime spiraling down into the shower drain?

Rose thus continued to feel supremely nervous throughout the entire shower.

She also shaved, for the teeny tiny part of her telling her "Just in case, just in case". Her legs, of course, and nothing else. She always hated shaving, but in case the situation progressed past "kissing on the cheek" and somehow, by the grace of G-d, into "heavy petting", well... Would be sure nice to have smooth legs! Rose stared at herself in the mirror blearily.

Rose stared at herself in the mirror blearily, arms by her sides. Then, she folded them together in front of her chest, modest as it were. Then back to her sides. Then back to folded. She tested facial expression after facial expression, finding something to nitpick at in each of them, testing her facial muscles like she had forgotten how to smile properly (she had). She sighed and ran her hands through her wet hair.

Rose stared at herself in the mirror blearily, gently toweling herself dry, combing her hair, brushing her teeth, flossing, brushing her teeth, mouthwash. She checked her watch, looking at the nothing in her hand, before remembering that her phone was charging on her bed. Once she was satisfied with the overall lack of moisture across her skin that would inevitably make clothing herself a pain, she left the bathroom behind, a burning memory, and dramatically tossed on an outfit that would scream, to the best of her ability, "I am so mega-gay and touch starved that I would commit several crimes for an opportunity to have the back of my hand brushed lightly in passing by a pretty woman," and thus grabbed her nicest set of flannels.

Jeans went with flannels, right? Black jeans. Lavender and black flannels. Black shirt? No. White shirt. Ah, fuck, deodorant. Shirt. Flannel. Button up? No, but roll up the sleeves. Jewelry? Of course. Hoops? Not today. Just little studs, keep it clean, Rose. Nothing crazy. Religious neck-based paraphernalia?... Not today. Did she have pants on? Something felt odd. Oh! Fuck. Everything off. Bra and panties, _then_ shirt and pants, _then_ flannel. Sleeves back up. Into the bathroom. Hide those eye bags, Rose! Cake them under a thin, tasteful layer of makeup that tells everyone around you "I like Mary Shelley's _Frankenstein_ so much that I will gladly inform you that the monster is named "Adam" if you ever mention classic literature to me," that is a perfectly coherent line of thinking for you to be going down. You are so frazzled, aren't you?

You are so hopelessly frazzled, Rose.

It's a breezy summer day. Wear your black and white sandals. Flannel open? Yeah, leave it open. Save the tie for the third date.

Out the door. 6:40.

6:45

6:50

6:55

Rose arrived four minutes early to the Golden Princess, a cozy little tea cafe that she _believes_ is run by a vaguely close family friend, but is not at all certain of that. She looked around for open seating, and somehow, her brain skipped over someone waving at her three times before it locks in that the familiar, willowy figure waving at her is Kanaya Maryam, who has arrived six minutes early. Rose's internal flighty horseshitometer immediately maxed out, and she tried very hard not to fume pleasantly at the sensation of yet again being one-upped by a pretty lady, something that happened with startling regularity. Rose walked up to Kanaya's table, bowed slightly at the waist, and grabbed a chair, preparing to pull it out, before thinking better of it.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked, instead.

"Yes, I'm afraid. I am waiting for a very lovely lady to come meet me at this cafe, and I'm afraid the seat is reserved for her and her alone." Kanaya replied. Rose, thusly, proceeded to pull the chair out and sit down, before planting her feet on the ground and using the friction between her flip flops and the floor beneath her to gently scuttle the seat into place under the table. "Oh! Rose. It's a pleasure." Kanaya exclaimed, feigning surprise.

"Charmed, I hope."

"I thought it was "Charmed, I'm sure", was it not?" Kanaya asked.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure if you'll be charmed by me yet, but I am definitely hoping you might be." Rose replied, for a moment thinking herself very clever.

"Isn't that a saying that you use when saying that you're sure you'll _be_ charmed, not _doing_ the charming?" Kanaya asked, and Rose immediately lit up beet red, while trying to pretend very hard that she was not lighting up beet red.

"In that case, "charmed, I'm sure."" Rose smoothly retorted, feeling the color draining and her skin retaining its natural hues.

"Likewise." Kanaya said, the corners of her lips turning upwards into a polite smile. Rose had no idea whether or not she was killing it yet, but she was slightly hopeful. After all, Kanaya didn't seem to mind looking at Rose, just like Rose didn't mind looking at Kanaya, her figure noticeably taller than Rose's own despite being firmly planted in a seat, her skin a pleasingly contrasting shade of sunlit olive compared to Rose's more drab paleness, distinctly lacking in sunlight. And Rose saw, with a slight smile of her own, that Kanaya was scanning her with her eyes, and they took a silent moment to cross-examine each other with their views, and do little else. "So, have you been here before?"

Rose shook her head. "No, but I've often passed by and felt enticed by the wondrous smells within, yet, alas, there was never an occasion that would require me to go and get some tea and baked goods by myself. So, I'm glad we at least have the opportunity to enjoy some of those delightful scents that have been tantalizing me during my entire stay at college." She explained.

"So, are you telling me you may perhaps be some sort of tea charlatan?" Kanaya said, smiling smugly. Rose dipped her head down, feigning disappointment in herself.

"I'm afraid the stories are true, Madam Maryam - I am indeed a tea charlatan, caught in the act. I'm more of a casual practitioner than anything. Mostly Throat Coat." Rose admitted, barely noticing a menu being set out for her.

"Throat Coat?" Kanaya parroted back.

"I used to do choir, in high school, mostly at my mother's direction. Throat Coat is good for sore throats, such as if you have a solo in two hours and you need to make sure your developing pubescent voice doesn't crack." Rose answered.

"And do you still sing?" Kanaya asked, and Rose grabbed the opportunity by its presented testicles.

"Only when I'm having a good time." She replied, raising an eyebrow in an attempt to look more intriguing. Kanaya immediately widened her gaze, and then, perhaps as if noticing that Rose could see the flushed shame spreading across her face, lowered them with a tiny chuckle and wider smile. She reached up and grabbed for her forehead, rubbing it with her thumb and pointer finger, giving Rose a good look at her intricately detailed green and gold nails in the process, and then busted out in a louder laugh. "Thank you, thank you, I aim to please."

"Oh, I hope you do." Kanaya snarked back, and now Rose was the one trying to avoid looking like she had just been made a fool of yet again, able to dish out the flirtations but yet severely lacking in the ability to take them. She hid her face behind her hands and let out a noise. "Are we allowed to talk about that, or should we save it for the twentieth date, when we hold hands for the first time?"

"Oh, um." Rose stammered from behind her hands.

"Speak up." Kanaya sharply spoke, and Rose immediately found her hands dropping down to the table, trying not to slap the surface and make an uncomfortably loud noise. She had to resist the urge to say "Yes'm" out loud.

"I didn't. Know. If you would want more than a first date. And, uh, that this was a date. This is a date? This is a date, right?" Rose asked, feeling like her hair was about to explode off her head with strain, like her hairband was holding a ticking bomb back.

Kanaya smiled kindly, reaching out to gently grab for Rose's wrist. And when she touched it, Rose's body _shuddered_ , a full body sensation that roiled from the back of her neck all the way down her body, causing her to curl her toes against the ground slightly, her wrist tilting sideways like it was trying to force Kanaya into hand-holding right away. She almost had to force it back down, flat against the table, and then Kanaya's thumb gently swiped over Rose's knuckles and it was like the feelings returning tenfold. "Rose, if I didn't like you, I wouldn't have agreed to drive across the city in a stranger's car to have tea with you. I also probably would've stopped responding after the first five-paragraph text message you sent me, but, luckily, I am the sort of lady who swoons when other ladies regale me with walls of text."

Rose had to try not to laugh - it felt weird to do so. "I literally cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not. I know, intellectually, that you are not, but your tone is just so even and composed, how do you manage?"

Kanaya grinned in a way that was slightly reminiscent of a mischievous imp, or perhaps some sort of cat about to knock something off a table. "Thank you, it's a practiced skill. I'm not being sarcastic."

Rose felt like she was about to pass out. Her heart fluttered in a way that was assuredly arrhythmic to the point of doctor-worrying, her skin grew clammy, her stomach filled with butterflies fully prepared to extricate themselves from her throat in any way possible. Then, Kanaya squeezed her wrist again, and then, she curled her hand around, gently pulling Rose's palm against her own, clasping a second hand over top of Rose's. "Breathe." Kanaya instructed, and Rose took in a sharp, clear breath. "Thank you. As much as I am irreparably attracted to you, it would definitely dim my view of you as a potential mate if my sheer presence caused you to pass out with joy."

"That was sarcasm." Rose said, rather than asking.

"Yes. I would actually think it's very cute, but I also don't want to have to splash your face with water to wake you up. I do not think a cafe is the appropriate location for the ruining of makeup." Kanaya replied, and Rose had to lightly slap the back of Kanaya's hand in an attempt to force her body not to make a noise, not unlike how one slapped their knee when they laughed.

" _Kanaya!_ " Rose hissed. Kanaya's grin only grew wider and toothier as she withdrew her hands, giving a little heh-hem and flicking her head to the side, at the approaching waitress. "Right."

"What can I get for you two?"

An order was taken. We won't regale you with the gritty details, nor how Rose kept getting distracted by looking at Kanaya over the top of her menu, watching Kanaya decide while she should've been deciding herself and then growing unprepared for when it actually came to be her turn to order. Just know that they did, indeed, actually get food and tea.

When it arrived, more time was spent consuming it than engaging in small talk. We could tell you all the fine little details, like how Rose couldn't stop herself from looking at Kanaya's hands when the other girl picked up her teacup in such a pleasant, dainty, ladylike way, or how Kanaya, when she thought Rose was looking away too far to see her in her periphery, paused eating a tiny little sandwich to just sort of... gaze. So pleasantly giving Kanaya enough time to look and then look away, so that she'd not be embarrassed when Rose whipped her head back around to continue talking to her. The sun began her steady downwards tromple across the sky , slowly sliding down the drain of ocean blue until it turned a deep, molten orange, a blood red, a lipstick pink, and then to black. speckled only with the bright freckles of plasmatic spheres aeons away.

The check was paid, and the sidewalk became the new object of attention to Rose Lalonde, while Kanaya spoke. "Thank you very much for inviting me to tea. It was lovely, really, although I suppose we'll have to find a way to broaden your palate in terms of brewed leaf drinks." She said, leaving Rose feel particularly flustered. When a response was not forthcoming, Kanaya reached out and grabbed Rose's hand. They stood side to side, not looking at the other, only able to feel the heartbeat in each person's wrist while their fingers figured out where they wanted to rest, eventually deciding upon "intertwined with each other", adding a bevy of new heartbeats felt in each knuckle. Rose looked at the ground; Kanaya, the sky, until the last vestiges of color drained into the evening. 9 o'clock.

"Of course. It was my pleasure." Rose replied, after a slightly extended silence. "When shall I be seeing you next, and would you like me to pay for your Uber back? Since you picked up the check, and everything."

Kanaya squeezed Rose's hand a little bit. "I figured we could hash that out tomorrow morning... if that's alright with you?" She offered, turning her head to look down at Rose, her face flush. And Rose couldn't stop herself from looking back. She was too stunned to even sputter. "If not, it's no worries, you have your own life affairs that you might need to handle and all-"

"No, please. _Please_." Rose pleaded quietly, her voice filled with a sudden, quiet desperation, springing forth like a terrified snake feeling the need to defend itself. At some point in the past 120 seconds, her hand had become a vicegrip on Kanaya's. "Please. You can stay the night."

"Rose, your grip..." Kanaya murmured, and Rose, catching herself, loosened it. And then, Kanaya returned the squeeze, taking a step out in front of Rose and down the sidewalk, gently leading her. "There we go. I'll lead the way, you just tell me where to turn, okay?"

Rose coughed, the ability to sputter once again returning to her. "I, um. Ah. My dorm is. In the other direction."

Kanaya stammered and stuttered her movements out as she tried to negotiate the "holding Rose's hand" and "turning 180 degrees" situation, steadily deflating until she was in mild giggling fits. Rose found it oddly infectious, trying not to double over once the laughter had grown to a fever pitch, leaning back against the brick wall. She took in a deep lungful of air, and reached the right hand out to Kanaya.

Kanaya grabbed it _tight_ , and Rose couldn't help but feel a slithering gulp wind its way down her throat. "Right. I'll lead the way, you just tell me where to turn, okay?" She asked, a little less forcefully, a little more polite-and-embarassedly.

"Yes'm." Rose answered promptly.


	2. Chapter 2

The dorm room was chilly, just like Rose liked it, but she did feel a slight pang of guilt when Kanaya stepped through the threshold with her and was immediately struck with a full body shudder. Not the fun kind of shudder, more the "It's too cold" kind. Rose shut the door behind her, closing it, tapping the lock so that the RA could not interrupt her (although why would an RA want to interrupt someone for no reason was beyond her, but she's heard tales), and gestured out wide with her arms. "Welcome to Casa de Lalonde. Please do not correct me if my Spanish is incorrect, I do not actually want to know if that is the case." Rose said, unable to resist the urge to smile a tiny bit smugly when that brought a pleasant laugh out of Kanaya's throat.

"I won't, then." Kanaya replied, taking a look around, gently brushing her fingers against as many surfaces as she could in the process. A desk, with a printer on top, wires cluttered behind it, a laptop heavily festooned with stickers, drawers containing paper and pencil. Textbooks stacked neatly on the ground, not yet ready to be packed away and sold in Facebook groups to incoming psychology majors more in need of them. A radio gently hisses out classical music at a low, thrumming volume.

Next to the desk, a bed, crammed thoroughly in the corner of the room and cranked down low to the ground, just enough room to fit some suitcases and portable drawers underneath. The dorm's pre-provided clothes drawers essentially acted as a little extra wall for the bed, to help Rose feel just the right amount of penned in in order to sleep comfortably - she was a bit of a tosser and a turner unless she had something to cling to, which wasn't very often, so she just fenced herself in to avoid falling. And the bed, well, just enough room to fit two people with a couple of inches to spare. Rose hopped onto it and kicked her shoes off while Kanaya continued to brush her fingertips upon every surface, along the lamp, upon the windowsill, upon the stove and the fridge. "Getting a good feel for the place?" Rose snipped, shuffling herself backwards into her little throne of pillows.

"Pardon?" Kanaya whipped around, startled a bit by the sudden emergence of "someone speaking". "Sorry, I just am always very interested in how other people live. It's a lovely little snapshot into someone's life. Very telling." She explained, slowly meandering across the tile over to the bed. A small television sat on the sole table that would normally be used for food, table provided by the dorm, TV not, the screen playing some sort of ASMR stream in a constant neverending babble for Rose to take in as background noise, to quiet her mind with distraction.

"And what do the cards say about me, pray tell?" Rose asked.

"That you live in a dorm and thus aren't allowed to accessorize as much as you'd like. That you're a bit of a mess and clean your clothes when you run out of new ones." Kanaya responded with a wide smile, flopping her butt onto the edge of Rose's bed, not the tiniest hint of judgment in her tone. "And you like having background noise. You don't fall asleep silently."

"A regular Sherlock Holmes." Rose teased, reaching out slightly towards Kanaya and then letting her hand falter slightly, her brimming confidence starting to ebb out the closer Kanaya got to her. From Rose's perspective, she felt disastrously plain compared to her, Rose was short, a little wide, without much of a fashion sense beyond "purple and black", while Kanaya was willowy, elegant, every motion felt planned and poised. Her summer sundress, a jade green number, fit her just perfectly, barely translucent enough that, in the right light, Rose thought she could see a hint of undergarment beneath. Rose pulled her flannel off, a plain white t-shirt beneath, and tossed it into one of the clothing piles. "They don't even let you hang those tie-die carpets on the wall. Fire hazard, or something."

"And you just listened to them?" Kanaya asked, chuckling, slipping her shoes off, reaching up to pull down precariously long socks. Rose tried not to stare, or let her mouth fall open, but Kanaya stopped midway through the first transparent sock, tilting her head just enough that Rose could tell she saw her gawking. "You can look, Rose. I'm already on your bed, taking off layers. Breathe."

So, Rose breathed. Then, while she stared at Kanaya's legs, she answered her first question. "I mean, it _is_ a fire hazard. And my sleeping situation is a little cramped as is. Don't want to take the risk of getting a flaming carpet on top of my piles of discarded laundry making escaping a dangerous proposition." Sock one off. Kanaya flexed her painted toes a bit before moving onto the next one. While her posture and demeanor didn't reveal any sort of ulterior motive, it was clear from the clever, knowing little smile on her face that she was putting on a show for Rose. Sock two, begin.

"Very sensible. I can respect that, I would also be upset if you suffered a fiery death."

"That wasn't sarcasm." Rose replied, a little too dumbfounded by the sudden revelation of silky, well-moisturized skin to really think about anything else.

"Correct. You're so smart!"

"That wasn't either."

Kanaya laughed, gently pulling the last clinging bits of sock cloth from her foot and folding the two articles of clothing onto each other, a neat little square, gently placing it on the top of the clothes drawer. "No, it most certainly was not." She said, rolling over onto her front and gently pulling herself along the surface of Rose's bed, closer, closer, closer, until she was almost... completely... on top of her...

Rose gulped. Kanaya reached up. "May I?" She asked, and Rose nodded, and when Kanaya reached out, to brush along Rose's cheek with the same tender gentleness that she had examined her furniture with (an odd thought, to be sure), Rose couldn't help but let a heaving shudder work its way up from the bottom of her tailbone, up into her neck. Then, when Kanaya's hand drifted a little down to just barely glance against her throat, all the way up into Rose's skull, causing her to throw her head back, and a sigh escaped her lips.

"Oh fuck. Oh fuck." She panted, embarrassed that such a light touch was doing this much to her. Kanaya's hand, once it became a more firm grip on Rose's shoulder, seemed to have less of a magical effect. It was that gossamer thin touch, like wisps of air, that stirred the biggest reaction out of Rose's cold, shriveled little heart. "What the fuck. Oh fuck." Eloquent, Rose. Where did the girl who wrote all those professor-praised research essays go? "Fuck."

" _Not yet_." Kanaya whispered, trying to sound seductive, succeeding hard enough to the point that Rose immediately bucked, smashing her head against the wall.

"Rose!" "Ow." Rose whined, reaching back to clutch the back of her head with both hands. Kanaya, roughly simultaneously, gasped and scooted over to Rose's side, reaching back to clutch Rose's head with one hand, while putting the other one somewhere on the bed to keep steady. "Are you okay?"

Rose sucked in air through clenched lips, before letting little peals of giggles bubble out from between her teeth. "Yeah, yeah, I'm - I'm okay. Ow." She said, slowly pulling one hand away from the back of her head, shortly followed by the next, leaving Kanaya's hand as the only thing cradling it from between the wall and her. "I'm going to... scoot down a bit."

"Please." Kanaya urged, letting go of Rose's head so that the other girl could wiggle her way down to resting her head on her pillow. "Are you feeling alright? No concussion symptoms, I hope?"

"Please, Kanaya, it would take a little more than _that_ to concuss me." Rose sighed, nestling her head into the pillow pile. As soon as she had thrown her head back, Rose had felt it, the force and fire and tease in Kanaya instantly melting into servile concern.

"May I lay down next to you?" She asked, oh-so-politely.

"Please do." Rose responded, a blooming throb of pain working its way through her head. "I'm just going to lie down for a bit. Right here. Very comfy."

And so, Kanaya laid down there, right next to her, letting one hand rest on Rose's stomach while the other one ran its fingers as soothingly as possible through Rose's hair. After the second brushing, she gently plucked Rose's hairband out of her hair, much in the way that one would pluck a dandelion out of the ground, and put it on top of the clothes drawer penning the two of them in. Rose sighed - something she seemed to be doing rather a lot of recently, and turned herself slightly so that more of herself could be closer to more of Kanaya. "Sorry if I ruined the moment or anything. I don't know if it's quite clear yet that I don't know exactly what I'm doing. Or maybe it is."

Kanaya laughed, pulling Rose into a hug, causing her face to immediately become hot with blush. "Oh, Rose, darling, I can assure you, this is not my first rodeo. Please, don't worry your beautiful little head about it."

Somehow, Rose felt both deflated and elated. "It isn't? Like, with a girl, or in general?"

"I'm a lesbian, Rose." Kanaya replied, chuckling. "This is not my first rodeo in general, or with a girl. Surprisingly, it's not my first one with a near-concussion event, either."

"You're right, that _is_ surprising." Rose responded, and they shared a giggle over it, each one lying on their side, facing the other. There was a moment of hesitant, expectant noise, filling the air with the dangerous, omnipresent background hum so clearly enveloping Rose's thought patterns, disrupting them just enough to deny her the eloquence she so hungrily craved. "So, um, I don't know a way to ask this that wouldn't come across as-"

"Yes, you can kiss me." Kanaya interrupted, and Rose let a little noise, and Kanaya presented her face expectantly. Rose bent in and kissed Kanaya on the cheek, and Kanaya squeaked out the smallest of pleased sounds. "Do you wish it was more?" She asked, beginning to let that seductive, powerful edge creep back into her voice. It put Rose's hairs on end, all the way from the bottoms of her feet to the top of her head, skin goosebumping its way into prominence.

Thus, came the "Yes'm". Kanaya reached out to gingerly cup Rose's face, like it was a precious artifact, and leaned in closer.

Rose shut her eyes. There wasn't a need to see what was coming next, only the feeling of lips against lips. It was indescribable, and after the moment ended and Kanaya pulled away, she was ravenous for more. "Do you wish it was _more_?" Kanaya asked, and Rose nodded harder than she had ever nodded in her entire life.

Kanaya grabbed Rose's face and pulled her in close, barely giving Rose time to shut her eyes. Rose reached out and let her hands hover near Kanaya, until an encroaching fashionista's hand grabbed her wrist and forced it down to her hip. Rose's body collided against Kanaya's, filling with heat, need, desire, lust, shame, embarrassment, fear, a devilish morass churning in her guts. Then, the taste of lipstick pressing into Rose's mouth squashed those angry, vile cockroaches in her throat, and Kanaya pushed back against Rose, and Rose pushed back against Kanaya, and their bodies gravitated together like two binary stars locked in a decaying orbit.

Falling towards each other, forever.

Or at least, that's what it felt like.

Kanaya's hand on Rose's hair ended up getting tangled to a point where Kanaya's palm was pressed up to her scalp, and the light pressure from the weaving of knots and ties around Kanaya's fingers, the gentle tug with every slight motion, was driving Rose _ballistic_. One of Rose's arms was curled up between the two of them, creating just a little bridge of separation, a little space for Jesus, but her other one was digging deep into the crevices of Kanaya's hip, grabbing for purchase, holding on for dear life like she was an escape pod in tumultuous gravitational tides, rocking to and fro with the accretion disk's violent heat. Kanaya's other hand, leaving Rose's wrist, went to wrap around Rose's back, to pull her closer, to trap her so far down this singularity she'd never even want to escape.

There was an event horizon of accumulated emotional mass rapidly gestating within Rose's gut, threatening to consume her. She had never had a kiss like this before, because she had never been kissed before. This grasp could never be fled no matter how much inexhaustible brainpower she dedicated to her raft's engines. No amount of velocity would allow her to escape this pull.

Kanaya's hand in her hair loosened it's grip at some sort of invisible signal that the prior bump was leaving its painful mark on Rose's nervous system, some sort of agony Rose had felt that she didn't even realize she was expressing, and instantaneously, the world had switched. Where there was force, there was now cradling, Rose's desperation giving way to desire, her hand climbing up Kanaya's back. Kanaya, her rescuer, her devil, her haunt, her exorcist, and right now, in this moment, that was _everything_.

Rose pulled away, gulping down air like she had surfaced from the bottom of an impossible fathom, her skin clammy and warm and tingling and needy and clingy and so many things that even her immaculate vocabulary lacked the terms to properly described. It was like electricity. Her radiation shielding had been failing all night, and now the panels had been ripped clean, exposing her aloofness, her coldness, her cool and panache, to the sterilizing rays of the sun. She had never felt anything like this before. Rose yanked away, her body wrenching itself in wired paroxysms of force as she had what could be bluntly described as some sort of little fit, reaching up to grab her hair and then drag her hands down her face. When she once again remembered that her Canis Majoris was burning in the immediate vicinity, she reached them back up to cover her face. "Sorry." She said, quietly.

"Is everything alright? Should I call a doctor?" Kanaya asked, quietly, detangling herself from Rose. She ran her knuckles down across Rose's cheek, letting one hand come to rest on Rose's wrist.

"No, no, I... You would not believe the _words_ burning through my head right now. Paroxysms of force, pulling me from an impossible fathom. Two binary stars in a decaying orbit." She mumbled through her fingers. "A lot of... poetic stuff."

Kanaya looked pleasantly surprised, her mouth formed into a gentle gape. "Am... I the binary star? I'm also afraid I don't know what a decaying orbit is."

"It's when an object's relative position in orbit isn't stable. A decaying orbit is one that's going down towards... towards the source of gravity."

"So two stars in decaying orbit are about to crash into each other, is that it?"

Rose let out a shameful bubbling sound through her lips. "Yeah." She shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable footsteps, but they didn't come. A minute, two minutes passed, and she grew enough of her spine back to peek between her fingers,

at Kanaya's luminescent blush, ~~tomato~~ red giant crimson. They locked eyes. "Rose, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about me, and by far the most flattering reaction to a kiss I've ever received."

"Don't you think it's a perhaps little bit of an overreaction? That I may be perhaps dramatizing what's nothing more than a lady's first kiss perhaps a bit too much?"

"Rose, darling, you said perhaps- wait, _first_?" Kanaya asked, going from tender to tender and incredulous in a moment's notice as the words took their time registering. "Oh, my, no wonder you're getting so flowery! Oh me, oh my, that is... Will saying "adorable" again sound condescending?"

"Yes. Please do it." Rose replied matter-of-factly.

"That's _adorable_. I'm genuinely honored-" and she did sound _genuine_ , "to have taken your kiss virginity. Do you need to take a break? Get some water?"

Rose shook her head. "I just needed some air. Now that I've got that... Please, madam, may I have some more?" Rose asked, half in-jest, half deliriously craving more, reaching back out towards Kanaya with the hand still held over her face. Kanaya reached out too, to grab it, lowering it gently so they could both look at each other. So they could _really_ look at each other.

"Since you asked so politely - yes, you may."

**Author's Note:**

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> 
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